Service as Innovation - Adam Kleinberg

Sitting here in agencyland it39s easy to get a case of I39vegotahammersoeveryproblemlookslikeanail SyndromeIf you39re a digital media agency innovation might look an awful lot like a DSP demandside platform If you39re a digital creative shop innovation may mean an iPad app If you39re a traditional agency trying to pretend you39re not innovation might mean putting a twitter hashtag in your client39s Super Bowl spotTo me innovation is about using creativity and logic to find a way to something better It39s critical to clients because it gives them competitive advantageWhy not innovate when it comes to the core of what you doWhat is too often forgotten is that agencies are professional service organizations We provide a service And not only should the end products derived from that service be innovative the service itself should beHere39s a news flash for most agencies Every client is differentThey all have unique needs They all have unique challenges They all have unique structures limitations personalities politics and contexts Yet agencies particularly large agencies try to make the service they provide to them turnkeyWhile process is critical to ensure quality products it should enhance the fulfillment of the client39s needs not frustrate it Agencies should have a process but they should look at it as a framework that can be adapted to the specific situation at handIf you take a process and use logic and creativity to find a way to service your client better well you39ve just innovated And probably gone a long way toward keeping that clientHere39s an exampleOne of our clients a large online ecommerce brand recently fired its big agency Traction sits on the cusp between small and midsized They shared with us the process that the former agency used and asked us to take over that piece of business We came back to them and showed them how they could dramatically reduce what used to take five days with their old agency to a matter of minutesWhen a business repeatedly charges customers for unnecessary and timeconsuming work it39s only a matter of time before they lose that customer Sure there was some revenue we could have made had we done what the old agency did Instead we provided a professional service that was adapted to the needs of that client And our relationship with and revenue from that client continues to growThe very nature of agencies is to be innovative Our clients engage with us because we are adept at using creativity and logic to find a way to do something better than they could do on their own This is the service we provideWe should provide it innovativelyStir never shake a spoonful of charisma a jigger of positive energy and a mind as sharp as a freshly plucked lemon and you get close to the cocktail that is Adam Kleinberg Adam is CEO and a founding partner of Traction an advertising agency and innovation consultancy in San Francisco He can be reached at adamtractioncocom Read all Adamamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Adam KleinbergCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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